Free The Stewards of Reed, Volume 1: The Rise of Fallon by RM Wark Page A

sighed. “I would love to bring you along, Luca – but I must get somewhere as soon as possible, and I cannot have you slow me down. Casper has enough weight on him already. He cannot carry another passenger. I am sorry.”
    The boy was clearly crushed by the rejection and looked down at the ground without speaking.
    The sight of the crestfallen boy tugged at Gentry’s heart. The boy does not deserve the dreadful life he has been given . So Gentry found himself relenting a bit. “But,” he said, “I must come back this way when I have completed my task and I shall need a place to stay. If you still want to come with me then, and if your mother permits it, I shall bring you with me back to Reed.”
    The boy looked up a Gentry. “You promise?”
    Gentry regarded the small boy before him with desperate, pleading eyes. “Aye, I promise.”
    This seemed to cheer Luca up and he gave Gentry a slight smile. “Aye, all right.”
    The sun was just starting to rise as Gentry and Casper took off down the road, headed for the Colton Gap.

CHAPTER SIX
The Start of Fallon's Apprenticeship

    While Gentry was making his way through the Colton Gap, Fallon was adjusting to life as an apprentice under Steward Isaiah. At this point he had only been with Steward Isaiah for a week, but it had not taken long to develop a routine.
    Fallon would wake up with the morning sun, eat a delicious breakfast prepared by Beatrice (sometimes Steward Isaiah would join him, sometimes not), and spend the rest of the morning in Steward Isaiah’s study learning about certain topics, the current topic being that of weaponry and defense tactics. All three of them would eat lunch together and then Steward Isaiah and Fallon would venture outside (assuming the weather cooperated) to breathe in fresh air and start the hands-on portion of lesson. This continued until sundown when dinner was usually served. Unless he had business with the Council of Elders, Steward Isaiah was usually present for dinner.
    After dinner Fallon was free to do as he pleased. He was allowed to peruse the plethora of books in Steward Isaiah’s study, or head outside to stare at the stars, or into the Village Square to take in the sights. Regardless of what he chose to do with his free time, Beatrice made clear that Fallon was to be back in the house and in bed each night by ten o’clock. Fortunately there were several bell towers scattered throughout the Village Square that sounded off on the half hour and erupted into a brief melody every hour (until midnight), so adhering to this rule was not especially difficult. Not that Fallon needed the bell towers, anyway. He usually opted to do some reading in Steward Isaiah’s study.
    Hexaday was treated like any other day and Fallon was expected to rise with the sun and engage in his studies. He suspected the same would have been true for Heptaday as well if Steward Isaiah had not been so keen on spending the day with his children and grandchildren.
    “Every day we wake to see another morning is a gift,” Steward Isaiah explained to young Fallon. “It is important that we spend a little time with those that make our lives worth living.”
    It was too far to make the trip to Littlebrook in a day to see his own family, but Fallon was comforted by the thought that he would be back home for a while around Zeke’s birthday. Too bad that is still three months away, thought Fallon sadly, before returning to a somewhat boring book about the history of swords and sword-making.

    *************

    Word that Fallon was to be the next Steward of Reed had finally reached his aunt and uncle. They paid him a visit the following Heptaday, bringing a picnic basket for lunch. They sat on the hillside by Steward Isaiah’s home overlooking the Village Square, eating bread and cheese and some wild strawberries that Uncle Charles received as a gift from one of his customers. The conversation was awkward at best – they had never been particularly close – and